Allen David "A.D." Wilson (September 17, 1844 – February 21, 1920) was an American

cartographer Cartography (; from , 'papyrus, sheet of paper, map'; and , 'write') is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an imagined reality) can ...

Biography

He was born in

Sparta, Illinois Sparta is a city in Randolph County, Illinois, Randolph County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,095 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city was the principal filming location for the 1967 film ''In the Heat of the ...

. He left school and in March 1867, enlisted with the Geological Survey of California. There he learned

triangulation In trigonometry and geometry, triangulation is the process of determining the location of a point by forming triangles to the point from known points. Applications In surveying Specifically in surveying, triangulation involves only angle m ...

. In July 1868, he joined

Clarence King Clarence Rivers King (January 6, 1842 – December 24, 1901) was an American geologist, mountaineer, and author. He was the first director of the United States Geological Survey from 1879 to 1881. Nominated by Republican President Rutherford B. ...

for his

Geological Exploration of the Fortieth Parallel The Geological Exploration of the Fortieth Parallel was a geological survey made by order of the Secretary of War according to acts of Congress of March 2, 1867, and March 3, 1869, under the direction of Brig. and Bvt. Major General A. A. Humphrey ...

and stayed with him through 1872. In 1872, Wilson accompanied King and others to investigate and eventually debunk a diamond hoax in the northwest corner of the Colorado Territory. Wilson then joined

Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden (September 7, 1829 – December 22, 1887) was an American geologist noted for his pioneering surveying expeditions of the Rocky Mountains in the late 19th century. He was also a physician who served with the Union A ...

, and between 1873 and 1878 he led a survey party across western

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

, western

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

, and eastern

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

. Wilson's half-brother Franklin Rhoda was a key member of this survey team. In 1879, Hayden's Survey was merged with others to form the

U.S. Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on March ...

named Wilson the chief topographer of the USGS. Wilson resigned from the USGS on September 30, 1881, in order to become chief topographer for the Northern Transcontinental Survey, organized by Raphael Pumpelly.

Henry Villard Henry Villard (April 10, 1835 – November 12, 1900) was a German-American journalist and financier who was an influential leader and the sixth president of the Northern Pacific Railway (1881–1884) which completed its trans-continental route d ...

, president of the

Northern Pacific Railroad The Northern Pacific Railway was an important American transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the Western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest between 1864 and 1970. It was approved and chartered b ...

, had invited Pumpelly to map a route through the territories of

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, and

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

and to identify the economic resources near the railroad lines. Pumpelly published part of that survey in his report for the Tenth Census, including at least one of Wilson's maps. During the 1890s, Wilson relocated to

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

, where he and other civic leaders organized the Athenian Bank (later renamed the Security Bank and Trust of Oakland). In 1918, the bank was absorbed by the Bank of Italy and soon thereafter became the

Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (Bank of America) (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in ...

. He died of

influenza Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These sympto ...

on February 21, 1920, in Oakland.

Awards and honors

Mount Wilson (Colorado) Mount Wilson is the highest summit of the San Miguel Mountains range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The prominent fourteener is located in the Lizard Head Wilderness of San Juan National Forest, north by east ( bearing 12°) of ...

was named for A. D. Wilson, a topographer with the

Hayden Survey Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden (September 7, 1829 – December 22, 1887) was an American geologist noted for his pioneering surveying expeditions of the Rocky Mountains in the late 19th century. He was also a physician who served with the Union A ...

. He was in the first ascent party, which climbed the peak on September 13, 1874, via the south ridge (a difficult route, not often climbed today). *

Wilson Peak Wilson Peak is a mountain peak in the U.S. state of Colorado. It is located in the Lizard Head Wilderness of the Uncompahgre National Forest, in the northwestern San Juan Mountains. It is the highest point in San Miguel County, Colorado, San M ...

- Elevation 14,017 feet - This peak high in the San Juan mountains above the old mining structures in the Silver Pick Basin was named for A. D. Wilson, a chief cartographer with the

.http://www.toppeak.com/index.asp?addItem=true&intProductId=84 accessed January 28, 2009 * Wilson Glacier (Mount Rainier) - a medium-sized tributary glacier located on the southeast flank of Mount Rainier in Washington state.

Publications

* "Report on the Primary Triangulation of Colorado" in Hayden's ''Tenth Annual Report,'' (1878), pages 275–309. * ''Geological and Geographical Atlas of Colorado and Portions of Adjacent Territory,'' 1877 * Leadville special map (Lake County) Colorado.

(1910) * Colorado, Tenmile District. U.S. Geological Survey (1897)(reprinted 1945)

References

External links

Historic Maps by A. D. Wilson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, A. D. American cartographers 1844 births 1920 deaths United States Geological Survey personnel Place of birth missing Place of death missing People from Sparta, Illinois